History of their community!
Students can research the history of their community! By sifting through the local library's information on their community and school, and by interviewing residents whose families have been in the community for several generations, students can compile the local history of their community while creating an opportunity for the community to celebrate its history! After the research and interviews are complete, students can gather photos, videos and historical artifacts in order to host a "Community History" night. In addition to celebrating the history of the community, students can create opportunities for the community to also celebrate its heritage by asking many different community groups to be a part of the celebration. This would be a great way to make the history of the community more realistic to students! Not only will they learn about history, they'll learn about the many cultural differences in their community and learn to appreciate the origins from which many families in the community come from!

Nursing Homes, VA Hospitals, and Senior Citizen centers
Nursing Homes, VA Hospitals, and Senior Citizen centers are full of people that can make History more realistic for students in all grades! Start taking your class to visit seniors so that they can learn more about such historical events as World War II, the Korean War, and the Depression and Stock Market Crash of the 1920's. Students could also learn about fun times like the nostalgic fifties, the roaring twenties, and the sixties. Events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the rise in popularity of Elvis will certainly spark the interest of students! Not only will they learn a new appreciation of history, they will become a companion to a senior in need of a friend! By writing reports or making oral presentations to the class about what they learn from interviewing the senior citizens, teachers could easily link the service the students provide with their evaluation and assessment practices!